Saving Seafood

National Fisheries Institute Welcomes Announcement of USDA’s Office of Seafood

April 16, 2026 – The following was released by the National Fisheries Institutes:

From its fundamental role in the U.S. Dietary Guidelines and its investment in aquaculture and invasive species protection to its inclusion of fish in nutrition programs, the Department of Agriculture has long supported the production and consumption of commercial seafood.

With today’s announcement of the Office of Seafood, we look forward to expanding that work and developing a fuller partnership with USDA. From bait to plate and pond to processor there are many facets of this industry that can benefit from the Department’s expertise in feeding Americans and assisting American businesses that produce food.  Seafood can have a necessarily complex value chain that is proud to feature iconic American fisheries and globally sourced raw material processed and distributed here in order to provide American families the healthiest animal protein on the planet. 

We thank Secretary Rollins and the Trump Administration for this critical step to improve the health of both Americans and the seafood industry.

Offshore wind triumphs over Trump in court, but future projects face delays

April 15, 2026 — The five East Coast offshore wind projects that recently won court victories over the Trump administration have restarted construction, but they make up just a small fraction of Atlantic states’ ambitious plans for offshore wind. And the dozens of projects that have yet to start construction have little chance of advancing while President Donald Trump remains in office.

“If you were going to make the best estimate of what’s going to happen, it would be that no other projects other than these five are going to move forward over the next three years,” said Warren Leon, executive director of the Clean Energy States Alliance, a nonprofit coalition of state energy agencies.

State leaders have been relying on these projects to underpin their transitions to clean electricity and to meet their growing energy needs, largely driven by data centers and artificial intelligence. But Trump’s hostility toward offshore wind has shown the political vulnerability of an industry that operates in federal waters and relies on the government as a landlord.

Trump has opposed offshore wind for years, making false claims that it harms whales, is unreliable and drives up energy costs. He seems to have adopted that stance following the construction of an offshore wind farm near his golf course in Scotland, viewing the turbines as an eyesore.

Read the full article at NC Newsline

US reveals start date for tariff refund process, but questions remain on implementation

April 15, 2026 — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said it will launch the first phase of its tariff refund process on 20 April.

CBP’s latest message said it will initiate the first phase of the “Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE)” tool in its “Automated Commercial Environment Secure Data Portal (ACE Portal).” The agency said CAPE will simplify duty refunds by giving businesses an electronic path to submit tariff refunds.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trump administration holds up NOAA grant funding

April 14, 2026 — The Trump administration is holding up some National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grant funding.

Earlier this month, the University of Colorado released a statement saying that a federal pause on grant funding has put scientists who collect data about the atmosphere “at risk for elimination.”

It specifically pointed to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), saying it “has not released these funds.”

Waleed Abdalati, director of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), told The Hill that about 30 days before the institute was slated to run out of funds to pay the scientists in question, “we were informed that NOAA has put a pause on all grant actions.”

“We are all told to assume no funding is moving through the grants management division until a spend plan has been approved,” he said.

Read the full article at The Hill

Greens see chance to protect species in ‘God Squad’ fight

April 14, 2026 — The Trump administration’s move to exempt oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico from endangered species considerations could hand environmentalists a public engagement opportunity, although one they would prefer not to have.

The use of the so-called God Squad last month to grant a more than 600,000-square-mile exemption for the oil industry puts the spotlight on the kind of charismatic species — whales and sea turtles — that not only conservationists but the general public hold dear. In particular, it highlights the plight of the Rice’s whale, which has only a few dozen of its kind left.

“This action by the Trump administration may prove to be a galvanizing moment for a whole new generation of advocates and voters who support the Endangered Species Act and the wildlife and ecosystems it protects,” said Ben Greuel, national wildlife campaign manager at the Sierra Club.

Read the full article at E&E News

Trump extends existing ban on Russian seafood

April 14, 2026 — U.S. President Donald Trump has extended a ban on several products produced by the Russian Federation, including a ban on seafood harvested or produced by Russian-flagged vessels.

In a post to the Federal Register, Donald Trump signed a continuation of the National Emergency that was initially declared under the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden in 2022. That order was then expanded under U.S. Executive Order 14068, which added any seafood harvested in Russian waters or by a Russian-flagged vessel, even if that product was transformed in a third country.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trump budget proposal targets NOAA

April 7, 2026 — The Trump administration’s fiscal year 2027 budget request is drawing sharp concern from environmental groups and ocean advocates, with proposed cuts to key federal agencies that support fisheries science, management, and coastal communities.

According to Inside Climate News, the spending plan would continue efforts to scale back funding for climate and environmental programs, including significant reductions to NOAA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The proposal outlines a broader push to “constrain non-defense spending,” while increasing defense funding to $1.5 trillion, a 44 percent jump.

At the EPA, funding would be cut roughly in half under the proposal, with grants reduced by $1 billion. Inside Climate News also reported that the agency has already seen significant staffing losses, with more than 4,000 employees leaving during the first year of Trump’s second term. That represents a 24 reduction in workforce, bringing staffing levels to their lowest point since the 1980s.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Trump administration to rejoin offshore drilling agencies separated after 2010 Gulf oil spill

April 6, 2026 — The Trump administration said Friday it is combining two agencies that were separated in the aftermath of the 2010 Gulf oil spill. The Interior Department said the overhaul would increase efficiency and speed up permitting for offshore oil and gas drilling.

The new Marine Minerals Administration will bring together the functions of the current Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said. Doing so will enable a “streamlined approach” that will maintain existing regulatory protections and rigorous safety standards, he said.

The combined agency will “deliver clearer coordination, better service to the public and stronger, more integrated oversight of offshore energy development,” Burgum said in a statement.

The new name is reminiscent of the old Minerals Management Service, which for decades was the federal agency responsible for overseeing offshore drilling. In April 2010, a deadly explosion destroyed BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 people and discharging nearly 5 million barrels of crude oil into the sea over the next three months in the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

Trump budget attacks renewables, boosts ‘energy dominance’

April 3, 2026 — The White House released its fiscal 2027 budget request Friday morning, unveiling plans to continue waging its longstanding war against renewable energy and climate initiatives while boosting support for artificial intelligence and fossil fuels.

The spending blueprint also includes a proposed reorganization for core Interior Department energy offices — the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

President Donald Trump’s budget would take a sledgehammer to Biden-era energy and environment programs that the administration has not already decimated, proposing tens of billions of dollars in cuts to everything from electric vehicle chargers to efforts to prosecute certain environmental crimes.

Read the full article at E&E News